The death toll from a devastating fire at a shopping mall in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi has climbed past 60, officials said as search and recovery efforts continued for dozens of people still missing on Thursday.
At least 30 bodies were recovered from a mezzanine-floor shop, Karachi South Deputy Inspector General Syed Asad Raza told the daily Dawn. He said the overall death toll was estimated at 61 following the latest discoveries, adding that the final figure would be confirmed after DNA analysis is completed.
Relatives of those still missing have criticised the slow operation at the three-storey Gul Plaza, where rescuers are scouring the wreckage for human remains.
More than 50 families have given DNA samples, provincial health official Summaiya Syed told journalists on Wednesday.
"We will hand over the bodies (remains) to the family, once DNA samples are matched," she said outside the Civil Hospital, Karachi mortuary.
Javed Nabi Khoso, deputy commissioner of Karachi's south district, said the remains had been transported to a hospital for DNA matching, adding that difficulties in identification made it hard to provide a precise death toll.
The blaze broke out late on Saturday and rapidly spread through the sprawling mall, which housed around 1,200 family-run shops selling wedding clothes, toys, crockery and other goods.
Firefighters battled the inferno until Tuesday.
By the time the fire was brought under control, Gul Plaza had been reduced to rubble and ash.
A government committee has launched an investigation, but the cause of the inferno was not immediately clear.
Fears of more
According to a state-run rescue service, 84 people have been registered as missing.
Police have said most of the missing are feared dead, raising concerns that the toll could climb further.
A small crowd gathered near the site on Wednesday to pay tribute to the victims, lighting candles and holding photographs of those believed to have died.
"It is a doomsday scenario," said shopkeeper Rehmat Khan after entering what remained of the plaza.
He said 18 to 20 people, including six staff members, had been inside his shop when the fire erupted. All remain unaccounted for.
Faraz Ali, whose father and 26-year-old brother were inside the mall, told AFP he wants "the bodies to be recovered and handed over to their rightful families".
"That is all so that the families may receive something, some comfort, some peace. At least let us see them one last time, in whatever condition they are, so that we may say our final goodbye," the 28-year-old said.
Fires are common in Karachi's markets and factories, which are known for their poor infrastructure, but a blaze on such a scale is rare. It is Karachi’s deadliest since a fire tore through an industrial site in 2012, killing more than 260 people.
